--- product_id: 53360428 title: "Haynes FM Retro Radio Kit (No Soldering)" price: "VT4866" currency: VUV in_stock: false reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/53360428-haynes-fm-retro-radio-kit-no-soldering store_origin: VU region: Vanuatu --- # Step-by-Step Guide Retro FM Radio No Soldering Haynes FM Retro Radio Kit (No Soldering) **Price:** VT4866 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Summary > 🎶 Build, Tune, and Groove to Your Own Beat! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Haynes FM Retro Radio Kit (No Soldering) - **How much does it cost?** VT4866 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/53360428-haynes-fm-retro-radio-kit-no-soldering) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Compact Design:** Dimensions: 19 x 4.4 x 24 cm—fits perfectly in any space! - • **Educational Fun:** Learn about electronics while enjoying a retro vibe! - • **All-Inclusive Kit:** Everything you need is included—just bring your creativity! - • **Unleash Your Inner Engineer:** Craft a nostalgic 1970's FM radio without the hassle of soldering! - • **Perfect for Teens and Adults:** A fun project for ages 14 and up—bond over building! ## Overview The Haynes FM Retro Radio Kit allows you to assemble your very own 1970's style FM radio with ease. This no-soldering kit includes all necessary components and a comprehensive step-by-step guide, making it an ideal project for ages 14 and up. With a compact design and educational value, it's perfect for anyone looking to explore the world of electronics while enjoying a nostalgic experience. ## Description This great kit contains all the components you need to build your very own piece of retro cool - a 1970's style working FM radio! Review: Smoke stopped sound - Manual difficult to read due to size. The layout of where the components go needs to be clearer. A list of the components and values would help rather than having to go back and forward in the book too. If you are wanting to just build a radio then you need to skip most of the manual and go to the last few pages. Otherwise you need to work through a number of different exercises to learn a little about the components and what they do. Once the radio was completed I was reasonably surprised at the sound quality and how easy it was to tune it. Unfortunately this was short lived. After about 5 minutes of use the sound stopped and smoke started to come from the speaker! This rendered the radio unusable and a very unhappy Granddaughter. Educational value good, overall value poor. I could have bought a number of superior radios with a warranty for the price. Review: Haynes manuals at their best - When I saw the Brand name Haynes, I knew I was buying quality. I have used Haynes car and motorcycle manuals for decades, a handyman`s easy read Bible But times change and modern cars no longer can be fixed at home on Saturday afternoon or so easily. Microchips, sealed units and plastic saw to that. So, this Retro Radio is a refreshing return to old school.. When the kit arrived it looked fun for kids or maybe other people like me, in a wheelchair at home, wanting to stay active with their hands and mind with an interest in electronics. The parts are all nice quality, and even the card board case is well presented. But then I read the manual and I was very impressed by the highly professional logical dialogue, plain easy read diagrams and precise detail information- In short, the instruction manual blew me away ## Features - Build your very own 1970's style radio - Working FM radio - Includes all components and full step-by-step instructions - No Soldering required - Not suitable for children under 14 years of age ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Customer Reviews | 3.0 out of 5 stars 13 Reviews | ## Images ![Haynes FM Retro Radio Kit (No Soldering) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71P9Hz15bxL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐ Smoke stopped sound *by B***D on 4 October 2017* Manual difficult to read due to size. The layout of where the components go needs to be clearer. A list of the components and values would help rather than having to go back and forward in the book too. If you are wanting to just build a radio then you need to skip most of the manual and go to the last few pages. Otherwise you need to work through a number of different exercises to learn a little about the components and what they do. Once the radio was completed I was reasonably surprised at the sound quality and how easy it was to tune it. Unfortunately this was short lived. After about 5 minutes of use the sound stopped and smoke started to come from the speaker! This rendered the radio unusable and a very unhappy Granddaughter. Educational value good, overall value poor. I could have bought a number of superior radios with a warranty for the price. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Haynes manuals at their best *by S***E on 18 May 2016* When I saw the Brand name Haynes, I knew I was buying quality. I have used Haynes car and motorcycle manuals for decades, a handyman`s easy read Bible But times change and modern cars no longer can be fixed at home on Saturday afternoon or so easily. Microchips, sealed units and plastic saw to that. So, this Retro Radio is a refreshing return to old school.. When the kit arrived it looked fun for kids or maybe other people like me, in a wheelchair at home, wanting to stay active with their hands and mind with an interest in electronics. The parts are all nice quality, and even the card board case is well presented. But then I read the manual and I was very impressed by the highly professional logical dialogue, plain easy read diagrams and precise detail information- In short, the instruction manual blew me away ### ⭐⭐⭐ THE CASE IS MADE OF CARDBOARD AND YOU NEED BLUE TAC TO HOLD THE BATTERY IN PLACE *by T***R on 26 February 2017* Like the Arcade Kit. You may need some blue tac to keep the battery in place since they did not provide anything. Both Kits proudly talk about including a Haynes manual but in both cases the book is not that great. Like the Arcade Kit, it cheats by using a small PCB that contains IC that is the radio, plus an op-amp IC and your job is to marry these up on a breadboard. A breadboard is one method to knock up a prototype, not really a way of keeping a circuit together forever, because once you had finalised your design you would then make it permanent, by soldering it together on a PCB. So they could have provided a nice printed PCB where you soldered this stuff in rather than have a resistors hanging out of the finished unit which they do not tell you trim. The website points you to page 31 to build the radio but all you find is an awkward to follow diagram. And some text explaining how it works. A Magnifying glass may be handy. I just built the radio and skipped the "experiments" (something the arcade kit did not feature) because there is no spare parts and I know these parts can easily break. Sound is good, pity it’s not a DAB kit because how much long will we have FM? The case is cardboard by the way, something which is not apparent from promotional photography where they have done their hardest to make it look like a real case. This is a bit of a let down. And the promotional photography does not reveal the stupid aerial wire hanging out which is necessary if you actually want it to work. This kit is a bit different to the 5 transistor style of radios I was aware of in the early 1970’s & 1980’s. It took me about 3 – 4 hour to build. I am still tinkering with it. I should point out the battery doesn’t last long. A rechargeable PP3 only lasts for about 3-4 hours before it needs to be re-charged. I would be interested to know what is the differences between the Calendar kit and this version. Especially since one seems to be available for about a tenner and the other at twice that price and then some. One seems to use AA’s the other a PP3. I originally wanted the Arcade Kit. I have found I am getting more use out of this kit. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/53360428-haynes-fm-retro-radio-kit-no-soldering](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/53360428-haynes-fm-retro-radio-kit-no-soldering) --- *Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu* *Store origin: VU* *Last updated: 2026-06-08*